Postage meters are devices for dispensing value in the form of postage printed on a mail piece such as an envelope. The term "postage meter" also includes other similar meters such as parcel post meters. A postage meter which is typically used is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,507 issued on Nov. 17, 1981 in the name of John H. Soderberg, Alton B. Eckert and Robert B. McFiggans assigned to the assignee of this application. Meters of this type print and account for postage stored in the meter. Mechanisms are provided in the meter to set a particular value of postage to be printed on a mail piece.
Associated with postage meters are mailing machines. Mailing machines can typically be high-speed (that is, a system where the value selection function is done simultaneously or, in the alternative, a mailing machine can be of the low-speed variety (that is, that each print wheel on a value selection drum of the postage meter is serially selected to allow for the printing of the postage stamp on the envelope or package). Typically, the low-speed machine is cheaper but does not handle mail as rapidly as the high-speed system.
Also associated with mailing systems are meter resetting devices. These devices are often times utilized to set the appropriate postal value.
Postage meters have been developed with electronic accounting systems which has led to the development of printing mechanisms and value setting mechanisms which cooperate with electronic systems in a manner to enhance the capability of the postage meter. Typically, a postage mailing system comprises a postage meter such as the beforementioned Soderberg et al patent with appropriate electronic control circuitry and a mailing machine which conveys the envelopes along a path to a receptacle. Mailing systems have become highly automated and are capable of processing large numbers of envelopes at a high rate of speed. It is important therefore that a postage meter can be associated with a high-speed mailing machine or a low-speed mailing machine to allow for universal application.
Heretofore, the combination of the meter and mailing machine have been uniquely adapted; that is, a postage meter was configured in such a way that it was only suited to be mated to a particular mailing machine or a particular set of mailing machines. Thus, a high-speed mailing system was only suitable for use for a postage meter which had mating elements adapted thereto. Conversely, a low-speed mailing machine was suitable only to be connected to a postage meter that had mating elements adapted thereto.
Therefore, it is clear that a universal postage mailing system, that is, a system which will allow for a postage meter to be adaptable to a high-speed machine (parallel value selection) or a low-speed mailing (serial value selection) is desirable. It is important that the system be a simple alternative to existing mailing systems. It is also important that the system be a dependable one and be subject to only minimal adaptations as compared to existing systems.